A World Cast in Shadow
by Summer Leigh Wind
Summary: Horace, though, is a fearful, selfish man and knows he will not be the one to save the children of Slytherin. He's already lost them-he lost the first one and from here on out, the lambs will all become the wolves of a madman's army. One-Shot. Companion/Prelude to We Can Begin the World all Over Again


**_A World Cast in Shadow_**

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Walking into his study, he tosses his cap with an errant hand into the armchair by the fire and paces for a moment before his desk. His hands brush over the framed-photos of past, bright, smiling students; his hand hesitates before it can brush over his latest Slug Club photo. Sighing, his eyes pick out the faces of his Slytherin students-none smile; a few smirk, but none of them look the least bit happy. Running his fingers down the length of the photo, he puts it back and comes around to sit in the well-used chair behind his desk.

He shuffles first year assignments into a pile before him and dabs his quill in the ink-well in it's usual spot, but the whetted-end never touches the paper. Eyes on the name at the top, Slughorn puts his quill down. Severus Snape. Only a month into his schooling and he's made enemies of half of Gryffindor, while keeping a tenuous friendship with a mudblood from the same house. There is no doubt in Slughorn's mind-even now-that the boy will be something, his advanced knowledge and inherent skill in potions is something to behold...but, what will the boy become? He's intelligent and on occasion, he's seen how gentle he is with his Gryffindor friend; other times though, the boy is downright vindictive (the same could be send for nearly all of Slytherin). Severus Snape is walking on a tight rope and depending on which way the wind blows-the youth will find himself on a side without truly knowing how he's gotten there.

Uncomfortable with his thoughts, the man's eyes drifting back to the photo on his desk and there, staring back at him, is the solemn face of Lucius Malfoy; the newest Slytherin prefect. He is suave and popular among the Slytherins, personable he might have called him if he was a Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff or Gryffindor. Not in Slytherin, no, in Slytherin it means he is conniving, a snake waiting to strike. Studying the picture further, Slughorn sees the glint in the youth's steely eyes for what it is; a fire. Slughorn knows it's not the fire of brilliance or warmth. No, it's a fire that promises destruction, of someone or something that Slughorn can only guess (the way he's caught him looking at the Potter heir from the professor's table in the Great Hall makes him fearful). The only time he's witnessed that flame lessen was in the presence of one; of the faultless Narcissa Malfoy.

The girl is delicate in appearance and very pretty (though, not quite as much as Miss Zabini was-but she was cruel, cruel, _cruel_; a demon playing an angel), she and Lucius make quite the pair. However, her eyes are closed and her smile cold, she uses her wand like a weapon and he's seen the sway she holds over the girls. She can remember once-just last year when the girl wasn't even considered an upper-year, how she made all of Slytherin shun her elder sister with a single glacial glance. The girl is dangerous, not in the ways he fears with the Carrows, Lestranges or even Wilkes; in the way where she could change a whole groups beliefs with a single word. She knows how to manipulate more than the hearts of man-she knows how to change them.

The other Black sister-the one still in Hogwart's halls, she's different. He can see it in the way she frowns and isolates herself (even without her sister's prompting). Slughorn likes her more than he likes so many of his children these days, he thinks with the right course or person she could be something great. All she needs is to get away from her family's reputation-like her cousin, (he knows there will be one more Black, what will become of that one is still unknown to him still). She's smart and he believes she views the world in a way so many of his students don't, she sees it as a tool for bettering herself; not something that needs to be bettered. The world, though, could do with bettering-so much bettering; the bruises on his children, their masks and actions speak of this.

The Rosiers, Averys, Wilkes, Zabinis, Lestranges, Carrows, Bulstrodes, Boles, Higgs, Montagues and so many others...they are in need of guidance; they may not hold the promise the select few do, but he _knows _they matter just as much in these coming years. They need care, understanding, acceptance and most of all they need a future bright and shining...Horace Slughorn fears the children of Slytherin will never have what they deserve. They are stuck in cycles, cycles of pain, neglect, fear, hate, and death so many of them will repeat and those who don't will fall in some other way.

He wants to save them, guide them, give them a world where they can be validated-he wants to give them a future where all of them get their greatest wish; the wish to prove to all that they _are _worth it. They _are _important. They _are _needed...

Horace, though, is a fearful, selfish man. He is as much a Slytherin as his children, he looks out for himself and everyone else after; connections only matter so long as they are useful and meet with what he aspires for. He does not want destruction, pain, death, suppression or even to be superior to all-Grindelwald was enough of a warning for his generation. What of the children after? They're are of a different world, a world where tension is thick, silent accusations from that first war still heavy in the minds of those before them and pain's just a prick away...he is afraid of this budding world and so he ignores it.

It's because of this he knows he will not be the one to save the children of Slytherin. He's already lost them-he lost the first one and from here on out, the lambs will all become the wolves of a madman's army.

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**Well, isn't that a little melodramatic? Eh, I think this One-Shot fits well with the We can Begin the World all Over Again universe and (maybe?) gives insight as to why Slughorn's in the past. You let me know if you think I'm right, okay everyone?**

**Thanks for reading guys and please review to let me know what you think! :)**


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